A Writing Blog Written by the Mind of Kelvin Cech

You’re a copywriter, you need to make money. The equation IDEA+?=PROFIT isn’t cutting it for you anymore, you need results. Before you send seemingly random elevator pitches you need to know something about your targets. Here’s how to create new clients in 5 steps:

Brainstorm

Find businesses you want to write for. Writing is your passion, you’re good at it, and now you’re turning it into your career. Make list of businesses you want to work for and add to it constantly. Set aside time everyday to work on your list, even if it’s only a few minutes. If Ruth Zive can stick to a schedule raising 5 rowdy kids, so can you. Stick to a schedule, that is. Not the 5 kids part. You’re hooped.

Focus

Hone the list. Is CNN on your list? Apple? These would be great companies to work for, just make sure you’re realistic and mindful of your target market. If you’re relatively new to the game then think of ways you can build a relationship with smaller businesses with a potential budget for copywriting, such as the coffee shop down the street, or the hockey academy in Burnaby, or a printing shop in Toronto.

Homework

Research these potential clients. Firing them an email asking for money in exchange for your beautiful words isn’t enough. I take pride in my ability to build relationships with clients; learn something about them, maybe someone’s name, or the value of a product they offer, or anything that shows the business you care about them before they give you any money.

Contact

Approach them initially and ask them if they have interest in a professional copywriter. “You guys could really benefit from a weekly blog post, it would push your online presence, create a community environment and ultimately get you more customers through the door/in the seats/buying your product.” That’s really just a fancy way to say “This is my name, I love your business, we should meet, I have some ideas.”

Deliver

Demonstrate your value and what makes you unique. Read How To Discover Your Remarkable Hidden Benefit by Copyblogger’s Brian Clark for some fantastic insight on this. Now’s the time to wow them, tell them your ideas and how you can work together to create something wonderful. The goal of any copywriter is to create recurring business. If you get hired by one of these clients make sure you deliver fantastic work. If you don’t get hired then make sure they associate your interaction with a positive vibe and they may hire you at a later date or recommend you to someone else.

I’ve worked with some great people, check out our Clients page for some samples of our work!
Photo by Flickr user kalebdf.